Despite its severe brevity and simplicity, Lost in Nightmares is a scary return to form for Resident Evil 5.
Resident Evil hasn't just been about blasting zombies and tearing Gigantes a new one. As a matter of fact, the game actually has had plenty of interesting backstory to sift through in between the action. In Resident Evil 5, Chris Redfield continuously makes reference to a battle against Albert Wesker, the deity-wannabe of Umbrella, and how Chris's partner Jill Valentine sacrificed herself to hurl Wesker off a cliff. Lost in Nightmares follows that narrative, with Chris and Jill entering the Spencer mansion to find out more about Umbrella's true motives. The story is an entertaining snippet in the Resident Evil mythology, with the Matrix-esque Wesker battle leading up to the powerful conclusion of Jill taking Wesker down with her. There isn't a ton of exposition throughout the battle, and if you've played Resident Evil 5's main story, you know what's going to happen in Lost in Nightmares. Still, there's a fondness in this throwback that makes the storyline exceptional and familiar. It may have been seen before in Resident Evil 5, but experiencing the full Spencer mansion infiltration in-game is a cool parallel to Chris Redfield's emotion-packed flashback.
Lost in Nightmares immediately drops you into the Spencer mansion with an assortment of doors and passages to progress through. If you've played any Resident Evil games before, the typical switch-puzzles and item collecting will be incredibly familiar. The few item-use puzzles are intuitive and don't require a ton of head-scratching, though the game will throw a few curveballs along the way. It's not a challenging episode, nor is it entirely complex. The puzzles are few and simple, but capture nostalgia of Resident Evil that is sure to satisfy fans of the series, and for those who miss the tank-style controls of pre-RE4 games, an easy-to-find easter egg allows for tank-style controls throughout the game. It makes the game more difficult for sure, but as a nostalgic inclusion, it's welcome for fans and sticklers for tradition. The ability to play through it co-op is cool too, even if, like Resident Evil 5 itself, the spookiness is lessened with a friend along for the ride. The overall design is still RE5, with just enough nostalgia to be worth playing through.
Combat is extremely sparse in Lost in Nightmares; aside from a few surprise zombies (who cannot be killed pre-emptively, only shaken off) the only real enemy is the Guardian of Insanity, who has a giant axe similar to one of the early bad guys in the main quest of Resident Evil 5. These guys are easy to defeat with the appropriate weapons and good aim; after a while they get pretty predictable in their actions. Still, the game doesn't let up in the challenge, especially in the sequence where you have no weapons and must take out a slew of Guardians sequentially. If you're looking for a tremendous amount of intricacy in Lost in Nightmares, you'll more than likely be disappointed. Still, the atmosphere is solid, the implementation of Resident Evil 5 controls and abilities work well, and the overall design feels smooth and streamlined.
As far as value goes, Lost in Nightmares gives you a decent amount of bang for your buck. At 400 Microsoft Points ($5) it's inexpensive, even if the game will last only an hour or so. There are also Score Stars to find in Lost in Nightmares, with the high scores being uploaded to leaderboards, along with some new Achievements too. You probably won't run through Lost in Nightmares again unless you're after the score stars or Achievements, as the moments feel predictable after a while. There really isn't much to Lost in Nightmares; it's a modest, inexpensive footnote in the Resident Evil 5 storyline that's short, but very suspenseful throughout.
If you haven't played through Resident Evil 5 already, you really shouldn't play Lost in Nightmares until that accomplishment is completed, but even if you haven't, the presentation remains a highlight of RE5. Though you won't find the bombastic set-pieces, gargantuan boss fights, or incredible action sequences, Lost in Nightmares makes things subtle. The atmosphere is mindfully reminiscent of past Resident Evil games, focusing more on the steady mix of suspenseful ambiance and funhouse scares, instead of white-knuckle action. The Spencer mansion in Lost in Nightmares is presented so forebodingly that it puts the few scares of Resident Evil 5's main quest to shame. The voice acting remains cheesy at times, but that's to be expected from Resident Evil. The sound effects and themes are chillingly toned; the surprising burst of sound when a zombie jumps off the ground to maul your face off is superbly frightening. While Lost in Nightmares presents a more ambient, scare-filled tone, the technical side of Resident Evil 5 is still one of the best on the 360. Great lighting, solid textures, and a creepy soundtrack all make Lost in Nightmares just as technically impressive as the original Resident Evil 5 game.
Pros
+ Retains the tense, scary atmosphere of past Resident Evil games
+ Easter Egg is clever
+ Inexpensive
Cons
- Very short
- Very few enemies
Resident Evil 5's gameplay and atmosphere flaws may have set it back when it was released in 2009, but even though it's in a condensed and painfully brief form, the Lost in Nightmares installment recaptures that suspenseful and scary ambiance that was near-forgotten in Resident Evil 5. Chris and Jill's exploration of the haunting Spencer mansion is shown in such a chilling way that you'll no doubt jump or cringe at the different occurrences throughout. The puzzles are familiar, albeit a bit simple, but the gameplay feels tight and the design has its moments of true fear. It's undeniably short, at only an hour or so, but the experience is a good one. Survival horror fans that didn't prefer the action-oriented Resident Evil 5 approach will probably love Lost in Nightmares, but those who are looking for another shooting romp will find the sparse combat to be a letdown. It's a very polarizing installment, but its grip on nostalgia still manages to shine through. If you have a spare 400 Microsoft Points, you can definitely do worse than Lost in Nightmares.